Window screen or blind



March 16, 1943. l.. E. wml-:TT 2,314;02A6

' wINDow SCREEN on. BLIND.

F'ied Feb. 2s, 1942 F ICL-l5 J7 I. Fla-7 INVENTOR l L EoN E. wlLLETT Patented Mar. 16, 1943 More WINDOW SCREEN 0R BLIND Leon E. Willett, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Chamberlin Metal Weather Strip Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Y Application February 23, 1942, Serial No. 431,926

10 Claims. (Cl. i60- 371) rto the general plane of the fabric, the ribbonlike wires being held in spaced relation by warp wires. Wire cloth fabric of this kind is illustrated, for example, in the Patents to John J. Grebe for Screen cloth, No. 2,078,940, granted May 4, 1937, and W. B. Ewing, for Screen, No.

2,194,222, granted March 19, 1940, to which refy erence may be had if desirable or necessary.

One object of the invention is to provide a window screen or blind equipped with wire cloth of the kind described and including a frame of simple form and capable of manufacture at relatively low cost which may be assembled with the wire cloth panel by simple operations; which is of such form as to enable the wire cloth to be readily replaced or renewed when desired; and which frame further enables the wire cloth to be stretched where necessary and to be securely held without sagging and without injury to the cloth fabric.

Further objects of the invention inpart will be obvious and in part will appear more in detail hereinafter.

In the drawing, which represents one suitable embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a front elevation, only a portion of the wire cloth being detailed for simplicity of illustration; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section on the line 2-2, Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 3 is an elevation from the right in Fig. 2, part of the fra-Ine being broken out to expose interior parts; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4, Fig.v l, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line 5 -5, Fig. 3,

' looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 6 is a f similar sectional view on the line 6 6, Fig. 4;

and Fig. '7 is a plan view,'from beneath, of a portion of one of the side cover plates.

Referring iirst to Fig. `1, the blind or screen there shown comprises a suitable frame includf ing side members I which extend vertically when the screen is in its normal position of use in or adjacent a window, and upper'a'nd lower end members 2 which extend horizontally. Within the rectangular frame' formed by" these four members is located a rectangular panel or web 3, made of wire cloth of the form generally illustrated in the said prior patents. The wire cloth includes parallel ribbon-like Woof members 4 held in spaced relation by warp members 5 each consisting of twisted or interlocked fine wires. In practice the ribbon-like members 4 are of a width of the order of approximately onesixteenth of an inch, spaced apart approximately the same distance, and the warp wiresare spaced aparta distance of the order of approximately one-half an inch, although these dimensions may vary, as may be readily understood.

Usually the ribbon-like woof wires are inclined a few degrees to a plane truly transverse to the general plane of the fabric, and the blind in use is so placed with respect tothe vertical Aplane that it acts somewhat after the manner of the so-called Venetian blind in respect to the passage of light through the screen.

Wire fabric of this kind, of course, requires no stretching in the horizontal direction or along the length of the ribbon-like members. It must be supported, however, so that the ribbons are straight and in a manner to prevent sag in that direction. In the other, or vertical direction, however, the fabric is capable of some stretch, and should be pulled and held taut when it is fastened in its frame.

Referring therefore to the upper and lower horizontal frame members 2, they may be made of any suitable materialsand of any form practical for the purpose. As illustrated, these members each comprise a hollow base I0 and a cover II, both fabricated of sheet metal. The base is bent to form a rectangular box-like portion formed by walls I2 from which portions of the metal extend outwardly in L-form, as at I3, to form a channel-like recess I4, the edge of one wall of which is formedby a flange I5 of the metal along one edge bent around the metal of theother edge of the sheet. The cover I I is a wide flat strip provided along one edge with a ange I which lies outside of the box-like base I2, the metal along the other edge being bent back upon itself, as at I1, not only to provide a smooth inner edge, but also to strengthen and reinforce the cover. This cover serves as a support for means engaging portions oi one of the ribbon-like wires for stretching the fabric and holding it taut. The engaging members are shown as metal tongues I8 bent downwardly from lthe wall II and spaced from each other by notches or recesses IIL-Fig. 3. These tongues conveniently may be formed by bending down a flange of the metal and either before or after so bending it, cutting out the notches or recesses I9, to leave a series of tongues lying end to end, all in the same plane, each a little shorter than the distance between two sets of the warp wires 5.

The side frame members I likewise each consist of a base I and a cover Ila. The base I0 here is of exactly the same form as the base used on the end members, and in the finished frame four base members Il! are preferably permanently secured to each other by mitering and welding or otherwise securing them together at the screen corners.

The cap I Ia for the side members again is provided, like the members II, with an outer flange I6, the inner edge of the cap being turned backward, as at I1, to form a smooth inner edge and strengthen the sheet. But these side members, instead of being provided with tongues I8, are provided with a series of small projections or teats 2i), spaced at varying distances from the parallel cap edges and distributed at various intervals along the length thereof, As illustrated in Fig. 1, these teats 2o are arranged in groups of five, as at A, the teats of each group being in a diagonal row. Several such groups may be distributed along the length of a .side member. Also, at each securing screw 25 (later to be referred to) a series of teats may be distributed around the same.

For clarity of illustration, Figs. 2 and 4 illustrate the caps and bases of the end and side members separated slightly from each other in the vertical direction. In assembling a screen, the four-sided box-like base may be laid upon a table or other support and a rectangular sheet or web of wire cloth, cut to the proper dimensions, is laid in place upon it. Then two end cap members II are applied to their bases, with the tongues I8 thereof passed through the narrow slot-like openings between adjacent ribbon-like wire members. The tongues are inserted through the fabric in such position that it is necessary to force the cap members apart in order to secure them in proper position to their bases. Usually the fabric will stretch approximately one-sixteenth or three thirty-seconds of an inch to the foot. When it has been so stretched, in a direction transversely to the ribbon-like wires, the caps I I are secured to their bases in any suitable manner, such as by a snap interlock, or by bolts or screws, as indicated at 25, or by a combination of such securements. Then the caps I Ia of the side members are laid in place and are likewise secured by snap interlock or by screws 25. The projections 28 on the side caps are so closely spaced that one of each group thereof will engage the Warp wires wherever they may lie, and said projections also space the caps slightly above the base Il! and prevent the clamping effect of screws 25 from crushing the ribbonlike wires.

'I'he completed screen presents a neat appearance, is light in weight, and holds the wire fabric securely and prevents sagging thereof in any direction. However, if the fabric suffers injury or is worn out it may be readily replaced by opening the frame and inserting a new piece.

What I claim is:

l. A screen of the character described, comprising a foramincus panel, and a frame therefor, including side and end members, one of said members having a body portion and a cap,

the cap having projections entering the foraminations of the panel, and means for securing the cap to the body portion with the panel held therebetween.

2. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel, and a frame therefor, including side and end members, one of said members having a body portion and a cap, the cap having elongated plate-like projections entering the foraminations of the panel, and means for securing the cap to the body portion with the panel held therebetween.

3. A screen of the character described, comprising a, foraminous panel consisting of warp and Woof wires, and a frame therefor, including side .and end members, one of said members having a body portion and a cap, the cap having projections entering the foraminations of the panel and adapted to engage wires of the panel for holding it taut in the frame, and means for securing the cap to the body portion with the panel held therebetween.

4. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of warp and Woof wires, and a frame therefor, including side and end members. one of said members having a body portion and a cap, the cap having projections entering the foraminations of the panel and adapted to enter the openings between wires of the panel for holding said panel taut in the frame, and means for securing the cap to the body portion with the panel held therebetween.

5. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of warp and Woof wires, and a frame therefor, including side and end members, one of said members having a body portion and a cap, the cap having projections entering the foraminations of the panel and engaging a face of the body portion for both holding the panel taut in the frame and for also' spacing the cap from the body portion, and means for securing the cap to the body portion with the panel held therebetween.

6. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of closely spaced thin strip-forni woof wires of elongated cross section lying in parallel planes, warp wires connecting and holding the woof Wires in spaced relation and with them forming elongated narrow slots, and a frame for said panel, including side and end members, one of said members having a body portion and a cap, the cap having elongated plate-like projections entering the elongated slots between Woof wires, and means for securing the cap to the body portion.

7. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of closely spaced thin strip-form Woof wires of elongated cross section lying in parallel planes, warp wires connecting and holding the woof wires in spaced relation and with them forming elongated narrow slots, and a frame therefor, including side and end members, one of said members having a body portion and a cap, the cap being of elongated plate form and having a series of projections spaced at intervals along its length and distributed at various points across the width, said projections being adapted to enter the elongated slots and some of them engaging warp wires and holding the panel taut in a direction. lengthwise of the woof wires, and means for securing the cap to the body portion.

8. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of closely spaced thin strip-form Woof wires of elongated cross section lying in parallel planes, warp wires connecting and holding the Woof wires in spaced relation and with them forming elongated narrow slots, and a frame therefor, includin-g side and end members, one of said members having a channeled body portion and a cap, the cap having a series of elongated plate-like projections distributed at intervals along its length and lying in a commony plane, said projections entering the elongated slots between adjacent Woof wires and extending into the channel of said body portion and being adapted to hold the panel taut in a direction lengthwise of the Warp wires, and means for securing the cap to the body portion.

9. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of closely spaced thin strip-form Woof wires of elongated cross section lying in parallel planes, warp wires connecting and holding the Woof Wires in spaced relation and with them forming elongated narrow slots, and a frame therefor, including side and end members, each of said members including a body portion and a cap, each cap being provided on its inner face with a series of projections dis-v tributed along its length and adapted to enter the narrow slots between Woof wires, the projections on some of said caps engaging Woof wires and on others of said cap engaging Warp wires for holding the paneltaut in two directions;l in said frame, and means for securing the cap to `the body portion.

10. A screen of the character described, comprising a foraminous panel consisting of closely spaced thin strip-form Woof wines of elongated cross section lying in parallel planes, Warp wires connecting and holding the woofwires in spaced relation and with them forming elongated narrow slots, and a frame therefor, including side and end members, each of said members including a channeled body portion and aj-"cap, each cap being provided on its inner facelwith a series of projections distributed along its length and adapted to enter the narrow slots between Woof wires, the projections on some of said caps engaging Woof Wires and on others of said cap engaging warp wires for holding the panel taut in two directions in said frame, some of said projections entering the channel of the body portion and others engaging its face to space the cap from the body portion.

LEON E. WILLETT. 

